Camping Passes

US Road Trip 2019

Ok you have purchased your rig and are ready to hit the road. There are a number of RV camping passes to buy that will save you money for long term road trips across the United States.

I have purchased as many as are available in the effort to minimize the cost of RV parks or parking overnight whilst travelling. My trip has included starting north in Washington State heading down the coast of Washington, Oregon and California to Los Angeles. The Route 66 out of California through to at least Amarillo, then down to Louisiana. I will then head up Route 61 along the Mississippi to Canada before heading over to north of Toronto.
I don't really have a real plan after Toronto but hope to head to the Northeast, maybe New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, before heading down the East coast during late summer, down to the Florida Keys by end of February.

Types of RV Camping Passes and Discounts.

Thousand Trails:
Purchasing a Thousand Trails Camping Pass is a good idea, particularly if you are planning a trip along the coasts of the United States, there are 5 regions. North East, South East, Midwest, North West, South West. Currently you can purchase a 12 month pass for $499 which includes 1 region. To purchase the other regions it is currently $54 each region.

To include the Trails Collection currently $199 it will include the Encore Resorts as well. With these passes you can stay at any of the Thousand Trails or Encore parks for 4 days, 365 days a year. However, as I just found out thats not completely true. Yes you can go from Thousand Trails to another Thousand Trails every 4 days or stay up to 14 days before you need to be out of their system for 7 days. Or you can stay at an Encore Park 4 to 14 days but cannot stay in another Encore Park for 7 days. This happened to me around San Francisco. I had previously booked into San Francisco RV Park and didn't realise most in the area were Encore Parks, I had to pay retail with a discount of 20  to stay at another park on the way down. I now know and will be more mindful of that in the future when planning my route.
Over the past 3 weeks I have stayed at 5 different parks along the coasts down from Washington and so far have returned at least half of my initial payout, so thats a good thing.
Trouble is there aren't any or many through the Midwest along the Route 66, so I haven't purchased that region yet, unless I decide to head south in Texas.
I wont be using any Thousand trails until I head into another region that has it.
Most of the parks I have visited so far are comfortable enough. All have hookups, not necessarily a dump station on each site but have clean toilets and showers, some have swimming pools or hot tubs and all have lodges with recreational facilities. Some have a shop for supplies. Most are a little way out of a town, so buy any supplies before your stay. Some have propane for purchase.
I am only 3 weeks in so far, so I will let you now in a later blog how the rest of Thousand Trails is.

Harvest Hosts.

Harvest Hosts is an app for your phone where you can stay at Wineries, Farms, Museums, Popular attractions, and recently introduced Golf Courses.
I purchased mine for $70 and I am currently staying at a winery north of San Francisco for 2 nights with another on a farm next week. I recently stayed at a Golf Course in Kingston Washington overnight. You must have a self contained rig, that is, a bathroom and kitchen within the rig to be able to stay. It is expected to purchase something from the establishment (usually a minimum of $20 per night) wether it be a farm, winery or attraction. At the golf course you don't necessarily have to play golf but it is encouraged to eat in the restaurant or utilise the bar area.
So far my experience has been wonderful. The hosts are very welcoming and its a great experience.

Passport America.


Passport America saves you 50% off the price of over 1800 campsites throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The current cost is around US$50 for one year. You can join up at your first campsite that accepts Passport America. You will need a mailing address to send the annual pass, sent a few weeks later. You will receive a temporary card, international campsite directory and your 50% off. However, many campgrounds only offer the discount from Sunday to Thursday. You will need to call ahead to make sure they are still participating in the program. I have since found some in the directory have discontinued their partnership with Passport America.

AAA and GOOD SAM.
  

Both AAA and Good Sam offer may discounts including 10% off at various campgrounds and parks (Good Sam 2400) around the United States as well as discounts at fuel stops (Pilot, Flying J ... 5c off), camping stores like Camping World 10% off and many others. AAA was included in my insurance, and Good Sam was around $29 1 year, $50 2 years, $75 3 years, as I write (2019)

KOA.


KOA is a chain of up to 500 campgrounds across the United States. They are a more upmarket campground with swimming pools, amenities and services, often restaurants and staff lead activities in the summer. You will receive a Value Reward Kard $30 plus taxes for one year. They are normally located just off the highways and byways around North America. These are great for longer term stays eg; a week or more if you want to enjoy the facilities.

America the Beautiful Annual Park Pass.


The America the Beautiful Pass is for entry into thousands of National Parks and Federal Recreational Parks throughout the United States. This park pass cost $80 and can be purchased at your first National Park location. The pass covers day entrance to all national parks, monuments and battlefields. All entrance fees associated with these sites are waived. Some include Alcatraz Island, Grand Canyon National Park, Olympic National Park in Washington, Yosemite National Park and many more. A full list can be found at www.usparkpass.com.
I purchased it in October 2018 and have already found it valuable. However, this doesn't include camping fees at the various campgrounds. Some can cost almost as much as private campgrounds or those listed above with camping discounts.
Please note: This does not include STATE PARKS! I was not aware of this as state parks are a total different identity.

State Parks.

  

Each state has its own State Park Pass. This could be expensive as you travel throughout the 50 states. I haven't brought any state park passes as I am not spending a lot of time in each state. However, a couple gave me an Oregon Pass which I was able to use once, but didnt get a discount for the camping.
An example of annual State Park costs are: Washington Discover Pass $35, California Explorer Pass $195, Arizona State Pass starts at $75, Texas State Parks Pass $70 for one person $25 for second person, New York State Annual Empire Pass card $80 only valid through to December 31st. Therefore I just don't see their value on a one year road trip.